Air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device

ABSTRACT

The present application relates to the technical field of air inflating and air pumping device, which providing an air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device that comprises an air valve unit, an air pump unit and an air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit; the air valve unit is connected to the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit and the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit is connected to the air pump unit, wherein the air valve unit comprises air valve sets and the air valve set comprises one air bag and one or two air valves; the air pump unit comprises an air inlet port and an air exhaust port to provide force for inflation and deflation; the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit includes a triple valve.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of International ApplicationNo. PCT/CN2020/080703, with an international filing date of Mar. 23,2020, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the technical field of air inflatingand air pumping device, in particular, the present application relatedto an air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device.

BACKGROUND

In the prior art, an air bag can be formed as an air inflating and airpumping device by being connected to units such as an air pump, airvalve and an air pipe. Since the air bag can adjust its height andhardness through air inflating and pumping by itself, so that theair-inflating and air-pumping device including it also has acorresponding adjustment function. Wherein, the inflation of the air bagis realized by using an air pump whose inflation speed (the inflationspeed is constant) is in direct proportion to the air flow of the airpump and the number of the air pumps, so the air-inflating andair-pumping device on the market usually adopts an air pump with largerair flow or a plurality of air pumps connected in parallel, so that theair bag has fast enough inflation speed. However, for the deflation ofthe air bag, since the existing air bag is generally in a simplestructure—each airbag is connected to an air pipe, the air pipe islinked with an air value and an air pump which are used to control theoperation of air inflating and air pumping of each air bag—the deflationof the airbag is always practiced in a natural way, that is opening theair value connected to the airbag and discharging the air in the airbaginto the air through the effect of the air pressure difference.

The natural deflation of the air bag has the problems of slow deflationspeed, inconstant deflation speed and the deflation speed limited by thesmallest caliber in the air channel. To begin with, when the actingforce on the air bag is small, the air in the air bag graduallydecreases with the increase of deflation time , and the externalpressure applied to the air bag will be relieved and the deflation speedwill slow down at the same time. Especially when the air pressure in theair bag is slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure, the deflationspeed of the air bag is very slow with very weak adjustment effect ofthe air bag. Besides, the deflation speed of the airbag is inconstant ina natural deflation way, and the air pressure in the air bag will changealong with the deflation, which set up barriers for accurate control ofthe air bag deflation. Finally, the air bag deflation rate is affectedby the smallest caliber in the air channel. For instance, although thesize of the exhaust port of the air bag is set very big, the deflationspeed is usually still not fast enough, because the deflation speed isalso related to the minimum diameter of the air channel and thedeflation speed is usually determined by the smallest caliber of theinternal deflation of the air valve. Given the air tightness of the airvalve, the outlet port of the air valve is usually set with a smallcaliber. These technical problems impact the use effect and need furtherimprovement.

SUMMARY

The embodiment of the present application aims to provide a device withhigh inflation and deflation speed and constant deflation speed of anair bag, in order to solve the problems of slow deflation speed innatural deflation, inconstant deflation speed and the deflation speedlimited by the smallest caliber in the air channel.

The embodiment of the present application is achieved as follows:providing an air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device including anair valve unit, an air pump unit and an air-inflating and air-pumpingswitching valve unit. The air valve unit is connected to theair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit and the air-inflatingand air-pumping switching valve unit is connected to the air pump unit,wherein the air valve unit comprises air valve sets and each set has oneair bag and one or two air valves. The air pump unit comprises an airinlet port and an air exhaust port to provide force for inflation anddeflation. The air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unitconsists of the first port, the second port and the third port, whereinthe first port and the second port are connected to the air inlet portand air exhaust port of the air pump unit respectively, and the thirdport is access to the atmosphere or air source of normal pressure. Theair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit is used for switchingthe mode of inflating or pumping.

Further, the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit includestriple valve or double valve, and when it comes to the triple valve, thenumber of triple valves is one or two.

Further, the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unitcomprises one triple valve and the triple valve is in parallelconnection with the air valve unit and the air pump unit.

Further, the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit includesone triple valve and each air valve unit contains an air bag and two airvalves, wherein the either sides of the air bag are separately jointedwith the air valves.

Further, the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unitcomprises two triple valves and the air inlet port of the air pump unitis linked with the first port of the first triple valve, and the airexhaust port is access to the first port of the second triple valve.

Further, two the second ports of the two triple valves are connected tothe air valve unit simultaneously.

Further, the air valve unit comprises an air bag and an air valve,wherein one of the ports of the air valve is connected to the air bag,while the other port is jointed with the air-inflating and air-pumpingswitching valve unit.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a method forcontroling the inflation and deflation of the air bag, which isimplemented by the above-mentioned air bag air-inflating and air-pumpingdevice.

Specifically, when there is one triple valve, the port of the triplevalve connected to the air exhaust port of the air pump unit is closedas the air bag is inflated; while the air bag is deflated, the port ofthe triple valve connected to the air inlet port of the air pump unit isclosed. When there are two triple valves, one of them serves as an inlettriple valve for inflation through the port connected to the atmospherewhile the other one acts as an exhaust triple valve for deflationthrough the port connected to the atmosphere.

Further, when the air bag is inflated under the condition that there aretwo triple valves, the air valve and air pump unit are opened; the firstport and the third port of the first triple valve are controlled toconnect; the first port and the second port of the second triple valveare connected; and the air bump unit inflates air from the third port ofthe first triple valve into the air bag.

Further, when the air bag is deflated under the condition that there aretwo triple valves, the air valve and air pump unit are opened; the firstport and the second port of the first triple valve are controlled toconnect; the first port and the third port of the second triple valveare connected; and the air bump unit extracts air from the air bag anddischarges the air into the atmosphere through the third port of thesecond triple valve.

Further, when the air bag is inflated under the condition that there isone triple valve, the second air valve is opened and the first air valveis closed; and air pump unit is opened; the first port and the secondport of the triple valve are controlled to connect, and the air bumpunit inflates air from the first port of the triple valve into the airbag.

Further, when the air bag is deflated under the condition that there isone triple valve, the first air valve is opened and the second air valveis closed; the air pump unit is opened; the first port and the thirdport of the triple valve are controlled to connect, and the air bumpunit extracts air from the air bag and discharges the air into theatmosphere through the first port of the triple valve.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a method foradjusting the air flow among several air bags, which is implemented bythe above-mentioned air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device ,wherein there is one triple valve set as closed mode or there is notriple valve at all.

Compared with the prior art, the present application has the followingbeneficial effects: offering an air bag air-inflating and air-pumpingdevice which achieves the re-pumping of the air bag-that is the air baginflates and deflates with the same air pump -by using the existing airpump with the premise of no extra cost. In this case, the deflationspeed of the air bag is faster than it does in a natural way, especiallywhen the air pressure is not high in the air bag, it can remain a rapidand constant deflation speed. At the same time, compared with adding onemore air pump to extract the air in the air bag, the air bagair-inflating and air-pumping device in the present application greatlysaves the costs and the structural room by inflating and extracting airwith the same air pump.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to specifically explain the embodiments of the presentapplication or the technical solutions in the prior art, the figuresrequired in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will bebriefly introduced below. However, it is to be appreciated that thefollowing figures are merely some embodiments of the presentapplication, and those skilled in the art can imply other figures basedon the provided ones with the premise of no creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art air bag air-inflating andair-pumping device

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an air bag air-inflating and air-pumpingdevice provided by one embodiment in the present application;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an air bag air-inflating and air-pumpingdevice provided by another embodiment in the present application;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an air bag air-inflating and air-pumpingdevice provided by one more embodiment in the present application;

The above-mentioned figures comprising:

an air pump (11); an air bag (12); an air pipe (13); a transfer air bag(14); a control device (15); an air valve (16); a discrete air pipe(131); an integral air pipe (132); a discrete air valve (161); anintegral air valve (162)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, further specific details are set forthwith some embodiments and figures in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the technical problems that are to be settled,technical solutions and beneficial effect. However, it is to beappreciated that the following description of the embodiment is merelyexemplary in nature and is no way intended to limit the application.

As shown in FIG. 1 , it is a perspective view of a prior art air bagair-inflating and air-pumping device which includes an air pump 11,several air bags 12 in parallel connection, an air pipe 13, a transferair bag 14, a control device 15, and an air valve 16, wherein the airpipe 13 comprises several discrete air pipes 131 and an integral airpipe 132. The air valve 16 consists of variety several discrete airvalves 161 and an integral air valve 162. Each air bag 12 is connectedto a discrete air pipe 131, and the discrete air pipes 131 are connectedin parallel way while every discrete air pipe 131 is linked with theintegral air pipe 132 respectively. One of the ports of the controldevice 15 is jointed with the integral air pipe 132 while the other portof it is connected to the integral air valve 162 to control the open andclose of the integral air valve 162. The transfer air bag 14 is locatedbetween the air pump 11 and integral air valve 162, which is used forstoring air pressure, so as to make it easy to adjust the inflation anddeflation of the air bag 12.

In the specific operation, firstly, the transfer air bag 14 ispre-inflated with abundant air through the air pump 11 and then the airpump 11 is closed. When it is inflating, the integral air valve 162 isopened and inflate the corresponding air bag 12 by controlling eachdiscrete air valve 161; when it is deflating, the integral air valve 162is closed and each discrete air valve 161 is opened to discharge the airin the corresponding air bag 12 into the air through the effect of theair pressure difference, which is deflation in natural way.

The structure of the air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device issimple, which is adjusting the hardness of each air bag by applying airpump and air valve to control the inflation and deflation of each airbag. However, in the process of natural deflation, the air bag faces theproblem of inconstant deflation speed and the speed is affected by manyfactors, for example, the air bag deflation speed will be slow if theair pressure on the air bag is small.

In order to address the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, theembodiment of the present application provides an air bag air-inflationand air-pumping device comprising an air valve unit, an air pump unitand an air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit. The air valveunit is connected to the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valveunit that is joint with the air pump unit. Wherein the air valve unitcomprises air valve sets and each set has one air bag and one or two airvalves, and the air bag is directly connected to the air valve. The airpump unit comprises an air inlet port and an air exhaust port to provideforce for inflation and deflation of the air bag. The air-inflating andair-pumping switching valve unit may consist of triple valve or severaldouble valves, and also three ports the first port, the second port andthe third port, wherein the third port is access to the atmosphere orair source of normal pressure. By the connection and disconnection ofthese three ports the switch of the inflation and extraction of air bagcan be achieved. The air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unitmay include one or two triple valves, wherein when there are multipleair valve sets (including two or more, they are connected in parallelway. The air valve is used for controlling the connection anddisconnection of the air valve set of itself, so that it can control thecondition of the air bag in that air valve set; when the air valve isopened, the air bag is inflating or extracting; when the air valve isclosed, the air bag stays on its present situation. The accuracy of theadjustment effect of the air bag can be improved by setting several airvalve sets, so as to achieve the precise control on each parts of theair bag.

In particular the air pump unit comprises air pump and the number of itcan be one and can be several (including two or more). When there areseveral air pumps, they are in parallel connection.

In one of the embodiments, there are two triple valves in theair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit. Referring to theFIG. 2 , the air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device includes anair valve unit, an air pump unit and an air-inflating and air-pumpingswitching valve unit, wherein the air valve unit comprising multiple airvalve sets in parallel connection and each of them is composed of an airbag and an air valve. The air pumping unit has an air pump. Theair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit is composed of twotriple valves that are triple valve A (the first triple valve), triplevalve B (the second triple valve). The air bag is linked with the airvalve which is connected to the triple valve A and the triple valve B,after the triple valve A and the triple valve B are in parallelconnection. The air pump is jointed between the triple valve A and thetriple valve B, wherein the A1 port of the triple valve A connects tothe air inlet port of the air pump and the B1 port of the triple valve Bis access to the air exhaust port of the air pump. The A2 port of thetriple valve A and the B2 port of the triple valve B are interconnectedto one of the ports of the air valve while the other port of it islinked with the air bag. The A3 port of the triple valve A and the B3port of the triple valve B are applied to make an access to theatmosphere or air resource of normal pressure.

Specifically, the air valve in the present application is different fromthe triple valve. The air valve is set in the middle of the liner pipeto control the flow and non-flow of the air without changing thedirection of the air flow. There are three ports in the triple valve,which can alter the direction of the air.

The “direct connection” indicates that there are no other units betweenthe two ones but pipelines for connection.

The air pump applied in the embodiment of the present applicationfunctions by electricity, which can use for inflating and extractingair. Compared with adding one more air pump to extract the air in theair bag, the air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device in the presentapplication greatly saves the costs and the structural room by inflatingand extracting air with the same air pump.

In the embodiment of the present application, the number of air bags andair valves can be rose multiply (in groups) according to the actual needof the application, and the multiple air bags are connected in aparallel way.

In which, the public port of both the triple valve A and the triplevalve B is port A1 and port B1 respectively. When the triple valve A isat a low electrical level, port A1 and port A3 are connected; and whenthe triple valve A is at a high electrical level, port A1 and port A2are connected; when the triple valve B is at a low electrical level,port B1 and port B3 are connected; and when the triple valve B is at ahigh electrical level, port B1 and port B2 are connected. Setting theelectrical level of the triple valve A and the triple valve B canconnect or disconnect the three ports of the triple valve A and thetriple valve B, so that the switching of inflation and deflation of theair bag can be realized. More specifically, when the air bag isinflated, the air valve and the air pump are opened and the latter isfor inflation; the triple valve A is adjusted to a low electrical levelwhile the triple valve B is at high electrical level, in which the A1port and the A3 port of the triple valve A are connected and the B1 portand the B2 port of the triple valve B are jointed; the air pump inflatesair the atmosphere) from the A3 port of the triple valve A and injectsit into the air bag. When the air bag is deflated, the air valve and theair pump are opened and the latter is for extracting; the triple valve Ais adjusted to a high electrical level while the triple valve B is at alow electrical level, in which the A1 port and the A2 port of the triplevalve A are connected and the B1 port and the B3 port of the triplevalve B are jointed; the air pump extracts air from air bag and the airin the air bag is discharged into the air through the port B3 of thetriple valve B.

When there is no need to inflate or deflate the air bag, the air pump,the triple valve A, the triple valve B and the air valve are all shutdown.

The air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device in the embodiment ofthe present application can inflate or deflate the air bag by applyingthe inflation and deflation function of the air pump through controllingthe connection condition of the triple valve A and the triple valve B,which contributes to the rapid and constant speed of inflation anddeflation and also make it easy to control. Especially, without addingany extra air pumps, the device achieves the rapid and constantdeflation speed of air bag just by using the existing air pump forre-pumping the air bag and changing the connection condition of thetriple valve A and the triple valve B. As the deflation speed of the airbag depends on the air pump extracting speed and is not influenced byfactors such as external pressure and the like, even when the airpressure in the air bag is slightly higher than the atmosphericpressure, the air bag can still keep a higher deflation speed, and thedeflation speed can be controlled by the air pump so as to realizedeflation of the air bag at a constant speed.

FIG. 3 is an air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device provided byanother embodiment in the present application, in which just has onetriple valve. As shown in FIG. 3 , the air bag air-inflating andair-pumping device including an air valve unit, an air pump unit and anair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit, wherein the airvalve unit includes multiple air valve sets in parallel connection, andeach set is composed of one air bag and two air valves, that is the airbag is located between the air valve 1 (the first air valve) and the airvalve 2 (the second valve); the air pump unit includes one air pump, andthe air-inflating and air-deflating switching valve unit includes onetriple valve which is connected to the air bag and air pump in parallel,wherein the 2 port of the triple valve is paralleling connected to oneport of the air valve 1 and the air inlet port of the air pump, the 3port of the triple valve is paralleling connected to one port of the airvalve 2 and the air exhaust port of the air pump. The air bag is locatedbetween the other port of air valve 1 and the other port of air valve 2,and the 1 port of the triple valve is access to the atmosphere. Inparticular, the public port of the triple valve is the 1 port.

In the embodiment, the number of air bags, air valve 1 and air valve 2(a set of air bag and air valve includes one air bag and two air valves,referring to FIG. 3 ) can be rose multiply according to the actual needof the application. The more the number is, the more accurate of theadjustment efficiency of the air bag and correspondingly the more costsit will take. Multiple air bags are connected in a parallel way.

When the air bag is inflated, the air valve 2 is opened and the airvalve 1 is closed; the air pump is open for inflation; the first and thesecond port of the triple valve are connected; the air pump inflates air(the atmosphere) from the first port of the triple valve and the air isinjected into the air bag through air valve 2 the from air exhaust port(as the arrow-pointed direction in the FIG. 3 ). When the air bag isdeflated, the air valve 1 is opened and the air valve 2 is closed; theair pump is open for deflation; the first and the third port of thetriple valve are controlled to connect;

the air pump extracts air from the air bag and the air in the air bagflows out through air valve 1 and the air exhaust port and finally isdischarged into the atmosphere through the first port of the triplevalve.

When there is no need to inflate or deflate the air bag, the air pump,the triple valve, the air valve 1 and the air valve 2 are all shut down.

Compared with the above embodiment, the differences of the embodiment ofthe present application comprises: applying only one triple valve, theair valve set including an air bag and two air valves, an air bag lyingbetween two air valves, and the triple valve connecting to the air valveunit and the air pump unit in parallel way. Similar to the aboveembodiment, the air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device in theembodiment of the present application also makes the re-pumping a truthby employing the existing air pump, which contribute to the fast andconstant deflation speed of the air bag.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another application of the air bagair-inflating and air-pumping device provided by the embodiment of thepresent application in the FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the airexchange between two air bags can be achieved by applying the air bagair-inflating and air-pumping device provided by the embodiment of thepresent application in the FIG. 3 , and the triple valve is closed inthis circumstance. When the air bag 1 needs to be inflated and the airbag 2 needs to be deflated, the air valve 21 and the air valve 12 isopened and the air valve 11 and the air valve 22 is closed; the air pumpis opened and working for extracting; the air pump inflates air from airbag 2 and the air flows through the exhaust port and the air valve 21and finally runs into the air bag 1 (flowing at the arrow-pointeddirection in FIG. 4 ). When the air bag 1 needs to be deflated and theair bag 2 needs to be inflated, the air valve 11 and the air valve 22 isopened and the air valve 21 and the air valve 12 is closed; the air pumpis opened; the air pump inflates air from air bag 1 and injects it intothe air bag 2.

Specifically, the concrete shape of the air bag in the embodiment of thepresent application is free from any restriction and it can be square,circle, polygon and so on.

The air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device given by the embodimentof the present application makes it free from inflating air from theatmosphere through exchanging air between two adjacent air bags, whichimprove the efficiency of the inflating and deflating air and also theefficiency of the adjustment of the air bag. The embodiment of thepresent application also provides a method for controlling the inflationand deflation of the air bag, which is implemented by theabove-mentioned air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device. Wherein,when there is one triple valve, the port of the triple valve connectedto the air exhaust port of the air pump unit is closed as theabove-mentioned air bag is inflated; while the air bag is deflated, theport of the triple valve connected to the air inlet port of the air pumpunit is closed. When there are two triple valves, one of them serves asan inlet triple valve for inflation through the port connected to theatmosphere while the other one acts as an exhaust triple valve fordeflation through the port connected to the atmosphere. For specificcontrol details, refer to the descriptions of the above structure part.

The above descriptions explain the technical solution of the presentapplication under the example of the air-inflating and air-pumpingswitching valve unit formed by triple valve. It is to be appreciatedthat the above-mentioned air-inflating and air-pumping switching valveunit formed by triple valve can all be replaced by air-inflating andair-pumping switching valve unit formed by double valve with the samefunctions.

Thus, it is appreciated that the above-mentioned embodiment is one ofthe optimum ones, and not used for restricting the present application,and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the figures anddescribed in the above description are intended to be encompassed by thepresent application.

What is claimed is:
 1. An air bag air-inflating and air-pumping devicecomprising: an air valve unit, an air pump unit and an air-inflating andair-pumping switching valve unit; wherein the air valve unit isconnected to the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit andthe air-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit is connected tothe air pump unit, wherein the air valve unit comprises a plurality ofair valve sets, and each of the air valve sets comprises one air bag andone or two air valves; the air pump unit comprises an air inlet port andan air exhaust port; the air-inflating and air-pumping switching valveunit for switching the mode of inflating or pumping comprises a firstport, a second port and a third port, wherein the first port and thesecond port are connected to the air inlet port and the air exhaust portof the air pump unit respectively, and the third port is access to theatmosphere or air source of normal pressure.
 2. The air bagair-inflating and air-pumping device of claim 1, wherein theair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit comprises a triplevalve or a double valve.
 3. The air bag air-inflating and air-pumpingdevice of claim 2, wherein the air-inflating and air-pumping switchingvalve unit comprises one or two triple valves.
 4. The air bagair-inflating and air-pumping device of claim 2, wherein theair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit comprises one triplevalve and the triple valve is in parallel connection with the air valveunit and the air pump unit.
 5. The air bag air-inflating and air-pumpingdevice of claim 2, wherein the air-inflating and air-pumping switchingvalve unit includes one triple valve and each of the air valve unitcomprises one air bag and two air valves, wherein the either sides ofthe air bag are separately connected to the air valves.
 6. The air bagair-inflating and air-pumping device of claim 2, wherein theair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit comprises two triplevalves and the air inlet port of the air pump unit is linked with thefirst port of the first triple valve, and the air exhaust port isconnected to the first port of the second triple valve.
 7. The air bagair-inflating and air-pumping device of claim 6, wherein two the secondports of the two triple valves are connected to the air valve unitsimultaneously.
 8. The air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device ofclaim 6, wherein each of the air valve unit comprises an air bag and anair valve, wherein one of the ports of the air valve is connected to theair bag, while the other port is connected to the air-inflating andair-pumping switching valve unit.
 9. A method for controlling theinflation and deflation of the air bag, wherein the method isimplemented by the air bag air-inflating and air-pumping device ofclaim
 1. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the air-inflating andair-pumping switching valve unit comprises one triple valve, when theair bag is inflated, the port of the triple valve connected to the airexhaust port of the air pump unit is closed; when the air bag isdeflated, the port of the triple valve connected to the air inlet portof the air pump unit is closed; when the number of the triple valves istwo, one of the triple valve serves as an inlet triple valve forinflation through the port connected to the atmosphere while the otherone serves as an exhaust triple valve for deflation through the portconnected to the atmosphere.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein theair-inflating and air-pumping switching valve unit comprises two triplevalves, when the air bag is inflated, the air valve and air pump unitare opened; the first port and the third port of the first triple valveare controlled to connect; the first port and the second port of thesecond triple valve are connected; and the air bump unit inflates airfrom the third port of the first triple valve into the air bag; when theair bag is deflated, the air valve and air pump unit are opened; thefirst port and the second port of the first triple valve are controlledto connect; the first port and the third port of the second triple valveare connected; and the air bump unit extracts air from the air bag anddischarges the air into the atmosphere through the third port of thesecond triple valve.